Writing Assignment #3: Anna

To express yourself or to not express yourself, now THAT is the question!

Our society has fought for rights for as long as we've been colonizing. Now, we have rights for almost everyone, except for modern cases (homosexuals). During the time that Vonnegut wrote Slaughterhouse Five, it was banned because of it's sexual content and vulgar language. As a teenager growing up in the 21st century, having read a book like Slaughterhouse Five, with its cuss words and fornication, it really wasn't much of a shock to read. We as a generation are constantly surrounded by this material, even in school.

I think that Vonnegut should not have been censored for his writing because everyone has a right to express themselves, even if that's with words that aren't as pleasant as others. If we are constantly sheltering people from every little thing that might offend us of upset up, how can we as a civilization ever move forward? How can we show acceptance for things if they are hidden from us and we are unable to understand them?

I think that every person should have a right to make information available and every person should have a right to learn about new things, even if they are unpleasant.

Freedom of Speech = Complete Creativity

Censorship is a very debated issue. Some groups think that most things are "not suitable" for younger audiences, and some people are in favour of free speech. So it's hard to satisfy everyone. I say there shouldn't be any censorship for anything. If you're afraid of children reading it, then leave it up to the parents and put warnings and ratings on the cover such as movies. Parents seem to want to shelter their children from absolutely everything that they deem is wrong. Well, news flash, we hear much more swearing at school, we see violence on the news, and there are practically women in bikinis and shirtless men all over magazines that have nothing to do with the half naked model in the ad. For sake of argument, lets say parents did have the ability to shelter their children from absolutely ALL wrong things in the world. OK, well they have a nice comfortable childhood, but then they go off to collage. Suddenly they are surrounded by parties, alcohol, drugs, relationships, and complete freedom. So now you've practically dropped them in the deep end of life, with no floating devices, and no swimming experience. They're going to end up sinking. I don't think the language and sexual references in Slaughterhouse Five are bad. Vonnegut doesn't use them just for the sake of using them, he's just trying to be true to life, which is the kind of writer he is. Censorship in literature is like stifling creativity. What if someone had told Shakespeare that he couldn't have any violence or sexual references in his plays?

By: Rachel Cutler